Overview of the Book of 2 Thessalonians
Purpose:
To follow up his previous letter (1 Thessalonians) by instructing the Thessalonians further about the return of Christ and the importance of responsible daily living.
Date: A.D. 50-52
Some interpreters believe that the two letters teach competing views of the return of Christ and therefore cannot both be products of the same author. First Thessalonians is thought to teach an imminent return of Christ, whereas 2 Thessalonians insists that certain historical events will occur before Christ's return. The supposed conflict is illusory. 1 Thessalonians says nothing definite about the imminence of the second coming, stressing only the suddenness and unexpectedness with which the day of the Lord will overtake the unwary. 2 Thessalonians specifies an order of events so as to counteract a new misunderstanding at Thessalonica that the day of the Lord had already taken place.
Moreover, 2 Thessalonians 2:5 and 2 Thessalonians 3:10 both present information that, had it not been legitimate, could easily have been proven spurious for at least a full generation. It is also difficult to imagine why the warning against letters falsely written in Paul's name (2 Thess. 2:2) would have been included in a counterfeit letter. In sum, there is every reason to affirm that Paul is the author.
Paul also dealt with chronic idleness (2 Thess. 3:6-15). This misguided behavior of some within the Church had continued unabated after the first letter (1 Thess. 4:11-12; 5:14), stemming from the time the missionaries had been present (2 Thess. 3:10-11). Paul had already given exhortations to rectify the situation, but according to fresh reports (2 Thess. 3:11) matters had only worsened. Many scholars attribute this idleness to a feverish expectation that the Lord's return was imminent (2:1-2 Thess. 3), along with the accompanying conclusion that continuing to work for one's daily sustenance amounted to a denial of faith. Yet it must be pointed out that Paul never explicitly stated that connection himself. Since 2 Thessalonians 3:10 strongly suggests that the problem had surfaced already while the missionaries were in Thessalonica, it would seem to be unlikely that eschatological errors gave birth to the problem, though they may have provided a convenient rationale for its perpetuation.
Notes from the NIV Spirit of the Reformation Study Bible, Dr. Richard Pratt, ed. (Zondervan, 2003).Dr. Richard L. Pratt, Jr. is Co-Founder and President of Third Millennium Ministries who served as Professor of Old Testament at Reformed Theological Seminary and has authored numerous books.